British banker bonuses rise at double the rate of everyone else

Bonuses for Britain's bankers and insurance workers rose at double the pace of those for the total workforce last year, despite politicians' and regulators' attempts to clamp down on bumper payouts at financial firms.

Across the whole of the UK workforce, the average bonus per employee was just over 1,500 pounds, 2.6 percent higher than the previous year.

Politicians have been trying to crack down on generous bonuses in financial services following the credit crunch. Many blame such incentives for encouraging excessive risk-taking, which destabilised banks that then needed to be bailed out.

The Bank of England last month tightened measures around bonuses, increasing the number of years in which payouts can be clawed back to seven.